Books

I have always loved to read ever since I was in first grade. My house is forever full of books: new books, old books, hard covers, paperbacks, fiction, and nonfiction. My two end tables and two shelves of bookcases are full of photo albums and scrap books. I have books in my closet, books in the bedroom, and a drawer of children’s books loved by my children and grandchildren. I have two versions of Bible I read every day. I have even more books including the ten I wrote on the shelf above my computer. This summer I donated a box of books to a nonprofit organization in an effort to clear some space on one of my bookshelves. But then I found myself buying a few more books.

Books make it possible for me to travel to places I'll never go and backward in time  which is impossible to see in any other way. I may wear the senior citizen label but I'm still learning from reading books. They keep my mind young, my heart warm, and my soul bright. They bring me learning, laughter, and joy. They connect me with the wisdom of the past and the new ideas of the present. My Bible keeps me moving on the right path as I journey through life.

I have learned that people are a lot like books. Some have bright and shiny covers but don’t have little to say inside of them. Others are old and musky but so full of wisdom and light that reading them can change your whole life. One difference between books and people is that while a book can have an ending, the writing inside of us goes on forever.

Take care when writing the book of your own life. Fill it with God’s love for you. Fill it with your love for God. Fill it with love for others and this world. Fill it with all the wisdom you have learned, goodness you have done, kindness you have shared, and joy you have spread. Keep writing it everyday. Make it everything you are and everything you want to be and then open it to everyone. It will be a wonderful read.

All mankind is of one Author and is one volume,

When one dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book,

But translated into a better language; 

And every chapter must be so translated;

God employs several translators;

Some pieces are translated by age,

Some by sickness, some by war, some by justice;

But God's Hand is in every translation,

And His Hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again,

For that library where every book

Shall lie open to one another.

John Donne (1572-1631)